The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

[Rich_S]

I was listening to "This Years Model" in the car at lunch time. Elvis C. was playing a Jazzmaster in those days. I love that sound - Fendery, but smoother. I have cheap Strat clone on the that's primarily going to be a beater for the office, but as long as I have it, it might as well be capable of making some useful noises.

I'll say that I have no use for Strats. When I want to make "Fender" sounds, the guitar that does it for me is the Tele. No matter how great others' Strat tones are, in my hands, they're thin and shrill. Humbuckers are good, too but I'm primarily Mr. Tele.

But I like that Jazzmaster sound. I know Seymour sells replacement JM pickups, but it's kind of a lonely stepchild. Routing a Strat for 'em would be a pain. So, what other (more normal) pickups kinda sound like Jazzmasters? Anything that would fit a normal Strat route? What about P-90ish designs?

Finally - the Jazzmaster had a short (Gibson) scale, didn't it? I suspect that contributes to the difference in tone.

So, all things Jazzmasterish - talk it up!

 

[Artie]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

I'm kind of in the same boat with you. When I want "twang" and bright, I use Tele's. I like my Strat a little thicker and fuller. SSL-6's neck & mid, with an SSL-3 bridge does it for me. Still single-coil-ish, but not too bright or ice-picky.

 

[gripweed]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

Great question -- and one I've been wondering about too! I wonder if MJ could wind a humbucker sized Jazzmaster pickup?

 

[ES350]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

The JM deal is a thin, wide coil with slugs---no bar magnets, no metal baseplate, unlike a P90. Basically a Strat pu with a wider footprint...I imagine this would be pretty easy to make if there was a market for them.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

I'm kinda the opposite: I have no use for Jazzmasters! Never liked them or Jaguars either. But one reason they sound the way they do is because of the bridge and vibrato and the extremely shallow angle of the strings between the bridge and vibrato...gives them that plinky tone. In other words, it's not just the pickups that makes them sound the way they do. Lew

 

[zionstrat]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

Lew, hit the physics and 350 nailed the pup design, but must admit Rich, that I've always loved ECs tone and I've never come close. I've aften added more crunch and rolled off the tone, but this has never worked as JMs are just unusual sounding-

If there was a way to add this sound to a tele or a strat I would dedicate a guitar to that sound. Very interested in any experimentation you do-

 

[Rich_S]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

So, to sum up our findings so far, I'm guessing we'd need an underwound Strat pickup with A2 magnets to kill the shrill, plus a trapeze tailpiece to make it plinky.:chairfall

 

[Wattage]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

My buddy just took a hardtail Strat and put a Bigsby on it and it is pretty cool. It definitely changed the tone and the string tension, I could hardly put it down the other night. You might try that over the Jazz/Jag trem.

He used a Jazzer bridge for it.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

My buddy just took a hardtail Strat and put a Bigsby on it and it is pretty cool. It definitely changed the tone and the string tension, I could hardly put it down the other night. You might try that over the Jazz/Jag trem.

He used a Jazzer bridge for it.

Too bad this clone has a trem... I thought about a Bigsby, too. Or maybe modding a hardtail bridge to be a top-loader, like some Tele's.

The possibilities for butchery are endless when you're starting with a $31 guitar!

 

[gripweed]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

Too bad this clone has a trem... I thought about a Bigsby, too. Or maybe modding a hardtail bridge to be a top-loader, like some Tele's.

The possibilities for butchery are endless when you're starting with a $31 guitar!

lol

I wonder if it is possible to get that sound without the trem?

 

[Rich_S]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

lol

I wonder if it is possible to get that sound without the trem?

That's why I said trapeze tailpiece - they give the shallow string angle over the bridge, without a trem setup. Too bizarre though, even for my tastes.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: The Jazzmaster - This Year's Model?

you won't get a Strat pickups to sound like a Jazzmaster pickup...no way plus even if you were to put Jazzmaster pickup on a Strat it still won't sound like a Jazzmaster. Will Ray from the Hellacasters plays a tele with Jazzmaster pickups and it doesn't sound like a Tele or a Jazzmaster! The Jazzmaster is 25.5 inch scale but the tremolo/bridge is part of the key, plus there is the funky rhy/lead circut that is a larg part of the tone...best bet is to just get a Jazzmaster!

Jazzmasters and Jags are just weird guitars no doubt but if you can get past the quircks they are very cool and different from anything else in the Fender camp...